Headquarters of the Western Asbestos Settlement Trust

300 East Second Street, Suite 1205Reno, Nevada 89501(775) 324-5511

Notices:

Reminder re: Timing of Requests for Consideration at the April 2018 Trustees' Meeting

Posted 03/05/18

As a reminder, March 12, 2018 is the deadline for submitting requests for revisions to Trust policies or procedures, physician certification, modifications to an approved list, and/or TDP/Matrix interpretations or questions to be considered during the April 2018 Trustees' meeting.

Statement on the Death of Futures Representative, retired Federal Judge, The Hon. Charles Renfrew

Posted 12/19/17

The Trust mourns deeply the loss of its distinguished Futures Representative, retired U.S. Federal Judge Charles Renfrew, and extends its heartfelt sympathy to his family.

Serving as the Futures Representative since creation of the Trust, Judge Renfrew worked tirelessly on behalf of all future claimants to ensure that the Trust’s goals were met.

Trust rules make no provision for an interim Futures Representative and require that the Trustees act now to nominate a qualified individual to succeed Judge Renfrew. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco Division) must confirm the nominee.

The nomination selection process is underway and the new Futures Representative will be announced and submitted to the Bankruptcy Court for its approval in the coming weeks.

Please call (775) 324-5511 with any questions.

Modification to Case Valuation Matrix

Posted 12/13/17

At the December Trustee meeting, a modification to the Case Valuation Matrix Section V(vii) Serious Asbestosis was approved by the Trustees, with the consent of the Futures Representative and Trust Advisory Committee. The modification is as follows:

“Serious Asbestosis” is

1. Asbestosis with ILO 2/2 or greater and AMA Class IV Impairment

Or

2. Where the Injured Person is “On Oxygen” and otherwise meets the requirements of subsections i, ii, or iii, below.

i. Injured Person has a diagnosis of asbestosis, has pulmonary function test results qualifying as Grade I, and a Pulmonologist or Occupational Medicine physician states that a contributing cause for the use of oxygen is asbestosis. Claim will be valued as a matrix claim even if there are other contributing causes listed for the need for oxygen.

ii. Injured Person has a diagnosis of asbestosis, but does not have pulmonary function test results qualifying as Grade I. Even though a Pulmonologist or Occupational Medicine physician states that the predominant cause or contributing cause for use of oxygen is asbestosis, claim a) will be valued under Individual Review and subject to the Individual Review process as described in Section VIII of the Matrix and b) if there are other contributing causes, the Trust will give equal weight to each cause for the need to be on oxygen.

iii. Injured Person has diagnosis of asbestosis, treating physician board certified in pulmonology or occupational medicine prescribes oxygen to the Injured Party, and the treating physician states the predominant need for oxygen is asbestosis. Regardless of the existence of other contributing causes for the need to be on oxygen, claim will be valued as a matrix claim.

“On Oxygen” means oxygen needed to perform activities of daily life, e.g., not oxygen that is prescribed only for comfort care, at night, for surgery, or on occasion.

Or

3. "Asbestosis death" is where asbestosis is listed as the cause or a significant contributing cause of death on the death certificate, or where a report from a Pathologist, Pulmonologist, or an Occupational Medicine Physician states that asbestos was a significant contributing cause of death. If an Injured Person has evidence of serious asbestosis or asbestosis death, and exposure to (debtor) products or conduct was a substantial contributing cause of the serious asbestosis death, then the valuation criteria for lung cancer, including the base Lung Cancer case, as defined in (II)(a), shall be utilized to determine the value of the claim.

Timing of Requests for Consideration at Trustees' Meetings

Posted 12/12/17

Below is the schedule for any requests for revisions to Trust policies or procedures, physician certification, modifications to an approved list, and/or TDP/Matrix interpretations or questions to be considered during 2018 Trustees' meetings.

Trustees’ MeetingDeadline for Requests

February 2018 Monday, January 15, 2018

April 2018 Monday, March 12, 2018

September 2018 Monday, August 6, 2018

November 2018 Monday, October 8, 2018

Increase in Base Case for Economic and Medical Loss

Posted 11/09/17At the October Trustee Meeting, a resolution was passed by the Trustees, with the consent of the TAC and Futures Representative that the base case for Medical and Economic loss will be indexed for all pending and futures claims, and that the index will be revised annually based upon the prior year's Economic and Medical Care CPI.The new indexed base cases values for 2017 are as follows:New Economic Loss Base Case $253,360New Medical Loss Base Case $300,676

Possible Increase in Base Case for Economic and Medical Loss

Posted 09/26/17This notice applies to all Trust claim filers and those who intend to file claims with the Western Asbestos Settlement Trust. The Trustees, with consent from the Trust Advisory Committee and Futures Representative, have determined that all claims submitted to the Trust after September 22, 2017, may be subject to adjustments in the economic and medical loss base case based upon generally accepted indices because of inflation.

Annual Report

Posted 04/27/17PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Western Asbestos Settlement Trust’s Thirteenth Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Hannah L. Blumenstiel, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, located at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 16th Floor, San Francisco, California 94102 in Courtroom 19.

Annual Report

Posted 04/26/16PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Western Asbestos Settlement Trust’s Twelfth Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Friday, June 10, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Thomas E. Carlson, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, located at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 16th Floor, San Francisco, California 94102 in Courtroom 16.

Timing of Requests for Consideration at Trustees' Meetings

Posted 03/04/16

Any requests for revisions to Trust policies or procedures, physician certification, modifications to an approved list, and/or TDP/Matrix interpretations or questions to be considered during the September 2016 Trustees' meeting must be received by the Trust on or before Friday, August 5, 2016.

The schedule for requests to be considered at future Trustees' meetings is as follows:

Trustees’ MeetingDeadline for Requests

November 2016 Friday, October 7, 2016

February 2017 Friday. January 6, 2017

April 2017 Friday, March 10, 2017

September 2017 Friday, August 11, 2017

November 2017 Friday, October 6, 2017

New Web Based Claim System

Posted 07/22/15The Trust is pleased to announce the ability to now submit claims in its new Web based claims processing system. Please refer to the User’s Guide for assistance in submitting claims electronically.System URL -- https://trust.524gtrust.comOf significance, the procedures for the following items are different from the Trust’s prior system. Each item is described in detail in the User’s Guide and if you need additional information, please contact the Trust.

Filing Fees: A filing fee is required prior to a claim being eligible for review. To avoid a delay in processing, it is important to maintain sufficient filing fees in each Trust. Once you have submitted a claim, you will need to apply a filing fee to that claim under the filing fee tab. If you submit a claim without applying a filing fee, the status of the claim will be incomplete. A claim will receive a deficiency notice if a filing fee is not applied within seven days.

Submitting claims: Each firm that anticipates using the Web based claims processing system will need to have a Law Firm Registration and a signed Electronic Filer Agreement on file for each Trust. You should have received both of these documents at the beginning of the month. If your firm has already returned both documents, you will receive an email with your user name and temporary password. The Trust only sets up the attorney and administrator for each Trust account. The administrator of each firm account will need to set up its own internal users. If your law firm did not receive the Law Firm Registration and the Electronic Filer Agreement, please let us know. If you have received those documents, but have not returned them to the Trust, please do so at your earliest convenience as it will delay your ability to submit claims through the Web based system.

Offers and Releases: The new system has the ability for the approved release to be downloaded for each claimant when the claim has been approved and notice has been given to the firm. The last page of the release will include the list of the multipliers used to value the claim. If the injured party agrees to accept the offer, you will still be required to return the original signed release to each individual Trust.

New Web Based Claim System

Posted 05/13/15As you may have been previously notified, the Trusts have been working to develop a new claim processing system which will allow for Web based claim submissions. The new web based system is nearing its first completion date where the Trusts can begin accepting new claims and resubmission of current pending claims. The Trusts wanted to notify all filers of some important upcoming dates. If these dates change dramatically, you will be notified and the new dates will be posted on each Trust’s Web site.

Important Dates

June 22, 2015 is the last day the Trusts will be able to process claim offers, releases and payments in the current claim processing system. Please send all signed releases to each of the Trusts before this date. If, for some reason, releases are not received by this date, the releases will be processed in the new system which will mean an approximate six week delay.

June 26, 2015 is the last day you may submit new claims or resubmit claims through the existing site to the existing system. At 5:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time on Friday, the Trusts will close access to the existing claim processing system for all submitting firms. However, if you have a claim that has a potential statute of limitations issue, please submit your claim to the appropriate Trust in paper format to the following address:

Attn: Laura Paul

Claims Manager

300 East Second Street, Suite 1410

Reno, Nevada 89501

Please note that between June 26, 2015 and July 20, 2015 firms may submit paper claims if they so choose.

June 29, 2015 Prior to this date, the Trusts will send out firm reports which will include the status of all the claims submitted by your firm. Once you receive the reports, we ask that you immediately compare your firm report to your database and let us know if any claim is not accounted for within the report you receive.

July 13, 2015 the Trust staff will begin data entry on the Trust side of the new system. If your firm has not previously worked with and/or filed claims with a Web based system and is interested in training, please let us know. Once we begin to accept claims we will set up go-to-meetings for individual firm training.

July 20, 2015 is the day the Trusts plan to begin accepting new claims and resubmissions of pending claims in the new system.

August 2015 the Trusts are planning on making claim payments within the first few weeks of August for releases received after June 22, 2015.

The Trusts appreciate all your patience and assistance as we change our filing system. We believe and hope that the changes will allow each firm to view its claims online, as well as run reports concerning claims.

Please feel free to contact Laura Paul directly concerning claims, dates or any other concerns you may have with claim processing. The Trusts will continue to notify each firm as we get closer to July 20, 2015.

Annual Report-Updated Hearing Time

Posted 05/11/15PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Western Asbestos Settlement Trust’s Eleventh Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Friday, June 26, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Thomas E. Carlson, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, located at 235 Pine Street, San Francisco, California 94104 in Courtroom 24.

Annual Report

Posted 04/30/15PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Western Asbestos Settlement Trust’s Eleventh Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Friday, June 26, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Thomas E. Carlson, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, located at 235 Pine Street, San Francisco, California 94104 in Courtroom 24.

Timing of Requests for Consideration at September 2015 Trustees' Meeting

Posted 04/17/15Any requests for revisions to Trust policies or procedures, physician certification, modifications to an approved list, and/or TDP/Matrix interpretations or questions to be considered during the September 2015 Trustees' meeting must be received by the Trust on or before Monday, August 10, 2015.

Compliance with Court Order

Posted 03/06/15

The following notification was sent on this date to firms which submit, and may in the future submit, claims to the Trust.

On behalf of the Western Asbestos Settlement Trust, J.T. Thorpe Settlement Trust, Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust, and the Plant Asbestos Settlement Trust (collectively “Trusts”), we are writing to all attorneys and firms who regularly submit, and may in the future submit, claims to these Trusts to request your cooperation with the Trusts’ ongoing effort to insure that only reliable evidence is provided in support of claims.

As you likely know from the Trusts' websites, issues in litigation concerning Michael J. Mandelbrot and the Mandelbrot Law Firm were reduced to judgment in 2014.(See the attached copies of the Judgment and some of the related documents.)

In discharging Trust responsibilities to scrutinize all evidence for reliability, and in light of recent information that Mr. Mandelbrot has continued to be actively involved, we are asking that your firm confirm to the Trust that the evidence you are submitting is in compliance with the Court Order, and especially to inform the Trust if and, if so, where Mr. Mandelbrot has been involved in preparation of evidence submitted under oath or affirmation in support of claims. Most specifically, we are reviewing declaration and interrogatory evidence concerning exposure.If you have questions that you would like to discuss with the Trust, please email or call us.We are following up at this time informally to determine if further investigation and/or audits will be required.

Payment Percentage

Posted 10/06/14

The Trustees, with the consent of the TAC and the Futures Representative, have increased the Payment Percentage to 48% of the total liquidated claim value. After necessary updates to the claims processing system and payment procedures have been completed, claims will be paid in accordance with this change. All eligible previously paid claims, including pre-petition liquidated claims, should receive the additional amounts due as a result of this Payment Percentage increase by the end of December, 2014.

Update Regarding Submission of Claims

Posted 07/10/14The Trusts have worked with their information technology professionals to set up new procedures for filing claims electronically. It is anticipated that between now and the end of July those processes will be put in place. If you are a current filer of claims with the Trusts, you will receive an email and/or phone call from the Trusts to give you instructions on the new web based filing procedures.

Notice

Posted 05/12/14The January 23, 2014 stipulation and agreement between the Trust and Michael J. Mandelbrot and the Mandelbrot Law Firm (collectively “Mandelbrot”) requires Mandelbrot to transfer all claims to substitute counsel on or before July 23, 2014.

The Trust will transfer claims filed by Mandelbrot to substitute counsel upon receipt of a written representation from Mandelbrot consenting to the transfer of each affected claim, as well as a written representation from substitute counsel accepting the transfer.

The Trust will transfer claims to counsel providing to the Trust a written representation and warranty that it possesses the client’s authorization to accept the transfer and handle the claim. To avoid doubt, counsel are encouraged to include copies of pertinent client authorization(s).

Where the representation and warranty does not show it has been copied to Mandelbrot (Michael J. Mandelbrot c/o The Mandelbrot Law Firm, 505 A San Martin Drive, Suite 200, Novato, California 94945), the Trust will promptly forward such representations and warranties to Mandelbrot. Absent objection supported by reliable evidence of a lack of client authorization, the Trust will modify its records to reflect transfer of claims to the counsel representing and warranting that it possesses client authorization within fifteen days.

UPDATE TO NOTICE TO BENEFICIARIES AND POTENTIAL BENEFICIARIES OF THE J.T. THORPE SETTLEMENT TRUST, THORPE INSULATION COMPANY ASBESTOS SETTLEMENT TRUST, AND WESTERN ASBESTOS SETTLEMENT TRUST REPRESENTED BY MICHAEL J. MANDELBROT:

Posted 05/05/14The Trusts have received inquiries requesting a copy of the May 24, 2013, letter referred to in the Bankruptcy Court's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law entered in the Declaratory Relief Adversary Proceedings filed by the J.T. Thorpe Settlement Trust and the Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust regarding the Trusts’ conduct in investigating Michael J. Mandelbrot and the Mandelbrot Law Firm. Based on these requests, the Trusts are posting the May 24, 2013, letter on their Web sites.

Approved Modifications

Posted 05/01/14Modifications to the Trust Distribution Procedures and Case Valuation Matrix were approved by the Trustees, with the Consent of the Futures Representative and Trust Advisory Committee, as follows:

Trust Distribution Procedures

Section 6.2 Content of Claims Materials

The Claims Materials shall include a copy of this TDP, such instructions as the Trustees shall approve, and Trust Claim forms. The Trust Claim forms shall be submitted with supporting documentation in accordance with the relevant criteria as set forth below and in compliance with Section I of the Matrix. At a minimum, the unliquidated Trust Claim form shall require submission of sufficient information to prove, and any relevant information tending to disprove exposure, disease and damages including:

(a) All relevant information called for in the San Francisco Superior Court General Order 129 Form Interrogatories, Set 1 and Set 2 and Minnesota Plaintiffs Set 1 Answers to Defendant's Interrogatories including the required complete occupational history and identification of other exposures, with the information relevant to exposure used to qualify this claim for the particular category highlighted and the pages tabbed.

(b) If the claimant was involved in any type of asbestos litigation, a complete copy of any litigation interrogatory responses created in support of that claim must be submitted to the Trust regardless of the jurisdiction in which the lawsuit was filed with any information exposures asserted in this claim highlighted and the pages tabbed (or, if applicable, noting that the interrogatories contain no reference to exposures asserted in this claim). In addition, the claimant who was involved in any type of asbestos litigation must identify all prior depositions of the claimant and produce them upon request.

(c) If the Claimant is utilizing the Trust Approved Interrogatories (set forth on the Trust Web site), portions of litigation interrogatories that were amended after the litigation was concluded or declarations to establish the Trust Claim, the responses and/or declarations must meet the following requirements:

(i) The interrogatories and/or declarations must be verified or made by a person who is competent to testify to the information stated in the interrogatories and/or declarations and the person must have personal direct knowledge of the factual information relevant to the claim and the answers and/or declarations must provide sufficient background information to explain how the person verifying the interrogatories and/or the declarant(s) acquired the personal direct knowledge of factual matters relevant to this claim, to allow the Trust to determine the credibility of the person verifying the interrogatories and/or the declarants;

(ii) Where the person lacks personal direct knowledge, the answers and/or declarations must provide sufficient information to explain how, when and from what sources the person verifying the interrogatories and/or the declarants acquired any indirect knowledge of factual matters relevant to the claim;

(iii) The interrogatory responses and/or declarant must provide specifics about the claimant’s (or claimant’s decedent’s) exposure and not use boilerplate wording;

(iv) If the person verifying the interrogatories and/or declarants relied upon documents as the basis for the responses given in the interrogatories and/or declarations (i.e. military records, social security records, etc.), those documents must be specifically identified and relevant portions of any such documents included in the supporting documents attached to the claim;

(v) The truth of the facts asserted in the interrogatories must be affirmed or verified under the penalty of perjury and any declarations must be made under penalty of perjury;

(vi) All declarations must be specific to the claim. In appropriate circumstances, the Trust may accept expert opinions pertaining to issues that are of general application and that are relevant to the specific claimant’s claim.

(vii) The Trust shall have the right to interview by phone or in person (always with the participation or presence of claimant’s counsel), anyone who verifies interrogatories, or has provided information to the person verifying the interrogatories or who submits a declaration in support of a claim submitted to the Trust.

(d) Medical records, medical reports and/or death certificates evidencing the claimed disease, with the diagnosis highlighted and the pages tabbed. For lung cancer and other cancer cases, evidence of markers or other factors which would lead to an upward adjustment under the Matrix will be highlighted and the pages tabbed. For Grade I claims, evidence of x-ray and PFT values that would lead to an increased award will be highlighted and the pages tabbed.

(e) For Serious Asbestosis claims, evidence to support this categorization will be highlighted and the pages tabbed.

(f) For an Injured Person seeking a multiplier for an economic loss in excess of the base case amount, an economic report of evidence supporting claimed wage/pension/home services loss, with total claimed loss highlighted and the page tabbed.

(g) For an Injured Person seeking a multiplier for medical expenses in excess of the base case amount, an affidavit summarizing medical expenses, or submission of medical bills to substantiate the total claimed amount.

(h) An endorsed/filed copy of the face page of the complaint or equivalent proof of commencement of litigation if applicable, or alternatively a certification under Section 5.1.

(i) Social Security records, front or identifying face page and portions relevant to facts asserted in connection with the claim of deposition transcript(s), union records, railroad records, military records (including leave records), or any other employment records all highlighted and tabbed. If such records are unavailable, the claimant or representative attorney must explain why such records are unavailable and attest that every reasonable effort has been made to obtain them.

a.Minimum and Maximum Values. All claims after being valued at their respective base case value and any appropriate adjustments are subject to the following minimum and maximum values.

(i)Minimum Value. Any Injured Person who has submitted an approved claim under a Compensable Disease category and has submitted a Trust Claim form to the Trust with all required documentation as outlined in the Trust Distribution Plan and herein, will receive a minimum of 10% of the Average Value of the claim for that disease in the controlling jurisdiction.

(ii)Maximum Value. Any Injured Person who has submitted an approved claim under a Compensable Disease category and has submitted a Trust Claim form to the Trust with all required documentation as outlined in the Trust Distribution Plan and herein, will receive a maximum of four times the Average Value of the claim for that disease in the controlling jurisdiction, unless it qualifies as an Extraordinary Claim as defined in Section IX of the Matrix.

b.Medical Diagnoses. Any diagnosis of pulmonary asbestosis shall be made by a (i) a Pathologist, who personally reviewed the Injured Person’s pathology, or (ii) an Internist, Pulmonologist or Occupational Medicine Physician who actually examined the Injured Person. These findings will be contained in a detailed narrative written report of the examination. All medical diagnoses in the Matrix are required to be made by Board-Certified physicians in appropriate specialties to a level of reasonable medical probability. Specifically, medical reports that only come to a conclusion that findings are “consistent with” asbestos-related disease will not, standing alone, be sufficient to establish compliance with the medical criteria in the Matrix. Medical experts who are not Board-Certified but who meet equivalent medical experience and expertise requirements may be approved by the Trust with the consent of the Trust Advisory Committee (“TAC”) and Futures Representative upon application by a Claimant.

c.Record Review Exception. Notwithstanding subsection (b) above, in the event that the Trust determines upon adequate showing under penalty of perjury that good cause exists to excuse either (1) personal review of Injured Person’s pathology by a Pathologist; and/or (2) actual examination of the Injured Person by an Internist, Pulmonologist or Occupational Medicine Physician, the Trust in its exercise of discretion may permit those medical professionals to submit their diagnosis of pulmonary asbestosis on the basis of a review of the Injured Person’s medical records (“Record Review Claim”), provided however, the Maximum Value for any such claim shall be the limit set in Section VIII for Individual Review. Examples of record review claims would be wrongful death actions where no pathology exists, or Injured Persons who are in such extremis or other circumstances exist that no such examination is practicable.

d.Claimant’s Burden to Submit Credible Reliable Claim Information. Information submitted in support of a claim must comply with recognized medical standards (including but not limited to standards regarding equipment, testing methods, and procedures) and/or legal evidentiary and authenticity standards.

(i) While the Trust will not strictly apply rules of evidence, information provided in support of claims must be reliable and credible so that the Trust and, if needed, ADR neutrals are fully informed regarding the foundations for facts asserted in support of claims. The Trust normally will accept copies instead of authenticated copies of x-ray reports, laboratory tests, medical examinations, other medical records and reviews that otherwise comply with recognized medical and/or legal standards unless circumstances indicate that the copies of the and /or the tests, reports, or review are not authentic or are otherwise unreliable.

(ii) The Trust normally will accept copies instead of authenticated copies of deposition testimony, invoices, affidavits, business records, deck logs, military service records (including leave records) or other credible indirect or secondary evidence in a form otherwise acceptable to the Trust that establishes an Injured Person’s occupation, occupational history, business or other losses or the Injured Person’s presence at a particular ship, facility, job site, building or buildings or location during a time period in which the asbestos-containing material for which Western is responsible was present, unless circumstances show that the information being submitted is unreliable.

(iii) Examples of unreliable information include where the circumstances raise questions of authenticity of copies or where persons authoring or verifying facts offered in support of a claim lack direct knowledge of such facts but fail to reveal and describe what facts, and how and from what sources they learned those facts, they relied upon as the basis for their assertion of such facts. Under these circumstances, the Trust and any ADR neutrals shall apply the rules of evidence to exclude evidence where the witness or verifying party declines to provide such foundational information, e.g., on grounds that the information relied upon is privileged or confidential.

e. Trust’s Right to Require Additional Evidence. The Trust may require the submission any other evidence to support or verify a Trust claim, including but not limited to additional exposure information, x-rays, laboratory tests, medical examinations or reviews, medical reports, or other medical evidence all of which must also meet the requirements of Section I (d) above.

f. Conspiracy Theory Claims Prohibited. Claims based on conspiracy theories that do not involve exposure to asbestos-containing materials sold, installed or removed by Western are not compensable under this Matrix.

Section VII. Exposure Requirements

a.Standard Exposure Criteria. Subject to Section 6.2 of the Trust Distribution Procedures, exposure to asbestos-containing material for which Western is responsible can be established by evidence described in Section I (d) and (e) above. The Trust shall have the right to consider all other appropriate evidence of exposure and may establish appropriate alternative exposure criteria after consultation with the TAC and the Futures Representative. The burden shall be on the Claimant or Injured Person to establish exposure to Western products by credible reliable evidence.

Annual Report

Posted 05/01/14PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Western Asbestos Settlement Trust’s Tenth Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Friday, June 27, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Thomas E. Carlson, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, located at 235 Pine Street, San Francisco, California 94104 in Courtroom 24.

Update Regarding Submission of Claims

Posted 04/25/14The Trusts have been working diligently to return to allow approved filers the ability to submit claims electronically. Although we have not yet reached this point, as of Today, April 25, 2014, the Trust itself will be able to upload claims to the claims processing system from CDs received from law firms.

New claims or deficiency responses can now be received either in paper or CD format mailed to the Trust at 300 East Second Street, Suite 1410, Reno, Nevada 89501. The electronic template, as well as the paper claim form, are located on the Trusts’ Websites under the “Claims” tab. Further, firms will need to continue to bookmark and highlight the information relied upon within the supporting documents as set forth in the claim filing instructions on the website.

All paper claims and CD format submissions will be date and time stamped when they are received at the Trusts. The Trusts will continue to maintain a master file separate from the system for each claim received, until the Trusts are back online.

The Trusts will continue to return all deficient claims or offers in paper format. You will receive a Content Deficiency Letter (CD Letter) or Release Authorization Letter (RA Letter) via US mail or other mail carrier. The Trust will not send the entire claim form or supporting documents back to the submitting firm, only the portion deemed relevant to the deficiency will be returned.

In order to cure any deficiency, you may submit a copy of the CD letter and only include the documentation necessary to cure the deficiency either in paper or CD format sent via US mail or other mail carriers. You do not need to resubmit the entire claim package.

The Trust will continue to work towards being able to receive claims in an electronic format.

Posted 04/16/14This notice concerns your claim(s) with the above-referenced Trusts (collectively, the “Trusts”), and has been authorized and approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.

Under the terms of an agreement between these Trusts and Michael Mandelbrot, and subsequent order of the Bankruptcy Court, Mandelbrot must transfer all claims for which he serves or has served as counsel to a new attorney of record by July 23, 2014.

If you chose to select new counsel to represent you, or to represent yourself in connection with your claim(s) with the Trusts, YOU MUST DO SO BY JULY 23, 2014 OR YOUR CLAIM MAY BE DEEMED WITHDRAWN. THIS MAY DELAY OR ELIMINATE YOUR RIGHTS TO PAYMENTS FROM THE TRUST(S), including initial payments and any further payments from the Trust(s) in the event of an increase in payment percentage/funds received ratio, and MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FILING FEES in the event you elect to re-submit your claim following withdrawal.

Notice

Posted 03/14/14As you are aware, the Trusts are having work done on their systems, which may continue for several weeks. Until further notice, all new claims or deficiency responses must be submitted by mail in paper form to the Trusts at 300 East Second Street, Suite 1410, Reno, Nevada 89501. Claims or deficiency responses that are submitted electronically (e.g. on a CD or other storage media) will not be accepted and will be returned to the sender. The reason is, that during this interim period, the Trust will not have the capacity to process claims in an electronic format. The paper claim form is located on the Trusts’ Websites under the “Claims” tab. In addition to the claim form, you will need to submit the required supporting documents, also in paper format. Further, you need to continue to bookmark and highlight the information you are relying upon within the supporting documents as set forth in the claim filing instructions on the website. One way to bookmark paper claims is to circle the information on the specific page and then place a marker or sticky tab on the relevant page. This will allow the Trusts to locate the information in an efficient manner.

All paper claim submissions will be date and time stamped as they are received at the Trusts. The Trusts will create a master file for each claim received and when the Trusts’ claims processing systems are operating, the Trust will reduce all paper submissions to an electronic format and input them into the claim processing systems as they were received.

Until further notice, the Trusts will return all deficient claims in paper format. You will receive a Content Deficiency Letter (CD Letter) via US mail or other mail carrier. The Trusts will continue to use deficiency codes and reviewer notes regarding the reason the claim is deemed deficient. The Trust will not send the entire claim form or supporting documents back to the submitting firm, only the portion deemed relevant to the deficiency will be returned.

In order to cure any deficiency, you may submit a copy of the CD letter and only include the documentation necessary to cure the deficiency in paper format sent via US mail or other mail carriers. You do not need to resubmit the entire claim package. The Trust will date and time stamp the documentation received and will add it to the claim’s master file.

The Trusts will continue to issue offers on valid claims.

Please continue to follow the current procedures and return the original signed release to the Trust via US mail or other mail carriers within the time allowed pursuant to the Trust Distribution Procedures (TDP) Section 6.3. If the Trusts find that the release is deficient, the Trusts will contact you via phone or e-mail and if necessary send a release deficiency letter.

The Trusts are working diligently to minimize the impact of requiring paper format for filing and processing claims on the payment of claims.

Notice

Posted 03/6/14The Trust has hired a well-known cyber security company who was onsite at the Trusts’ physical location for three days at the end of last week. That company is now working to determine the origin of any incursion which may have happened. Preliminarily it does not appear that any data was altered or removed but final review may take several weeks as the Trusts want to be extraordinarily careful. The Trusts are having twice weekly telephone meetings with the company and hope to have information about when the system will be back up and functioning by the end of next week. In the meantime, the Trusts are working to rebuild a read-only system for the processors. This will enable the processors to look at claims already filed and determine if there are deficiencies or offers that can be sent by mail. By Friday of next week the Trusts will make a decision as to whether they need to temporarily implement a paper system for filing claims. Thank you for your patience.

Notice

Posted 02/21/14Over last weekend, the Trusts experienced an incursion into their computer systems. When the incursion was discovered, the Trusts’ systems were taken off-line. At the current time, it does not appear that any claimant information was compromised or disclosed. However, the Trusts have retained experts to further evaluate the extent of the incursion. Until the Trusts’ investigation, and any remedial action is completed, the Trusts’ systems will remain off-line. Applicable statute of limitations will be tolled during the period that the Trusts’ systems are off-line, and until alternative filing procedures, if any, are in place. Any questions, should be directed to the Trusts.

Notice

Posted 02/18/14The claims processing FTP server is down for maintenance. Please check back later for updates.

Notice

Posted 01/31/14The Declaratory Relief Adversary Proceedings filed by the J.T. Thorpe Settlement Trust and the Thorpe Insulation Settlement Trust regarding the Trusts’ conduct in investigating Michael J. Mandelbrot and the Mandelbrot Law firm, as well as the Trusts’ Motion For Instructions Regarding (1) the Trusts’ Audit Findings Regarding Mandelbrot and (2) the Trusts’ Remedy, have been resolved by stipulation placed on the record in open court on January 23, 2014. A link to a copy of the court’s docket entry is set forth below. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law conforming to the stipulation are due to be filed with the court by February 11, 2014, and a tentative hearing date has been set to hear any disputes arising out of finalizing the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law on February 18, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. before the Honorable Sheri Bluebond, Courtroom 1475, 255 E. Temple St. 14th Floor, Los Angeles, California 90012. J.T. Thorpe Settlement Trust and the Thorpe Insulation Company Asbestos Settlement Trust vs. Michael J. Mandelbrot and the Mandelbrot Law firm, Case No. 12-ap-02182, United States Bankruptcy Court Central District of California.

Claimants who desire to exercise their right to Arbitration under Section 5.9 of the First Amendment to and Complete Restatement of the Western Asbestos Company/Western Mac Arthur Co./Mac Arthur Co. Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust Distribution Procedures (“TDP”) may do so by providing the Trust’s Administrator with a written request for Arbitration within ninety (90) days of either a claim being rejected by the Trust, or a rejection by the claimant of a Trust offer. Upon receipt of a written request for Arbitration, the Trust within ten (10) days, will send to claimant an Election Form and Agreement for Binding or Non-Binding Arbitration.

If the Trust has already received an Evaluation by Document Election Agreement prior to January 14, 2014, that claim is unaffected.

Western Built and Repaired Lists

Posted 10/01/13The following is a list of the modifications to the Western Asbestos Settlement Trust Built and Repair Ship Lists approved at the September 2013 Trustees' meeting.

Ships removed from the Western Built List:

Angelo Petri – this ship was built at Kaiser, Swan Island

Oregon Mail – this ship was built at NASSCO in San Diego

President Kennedy – this ship was built at NASSCO in San Diego

Ocean Phoenix, previously the Oregon Mail – this ship was built at NASSCO in San Diego

Modifications to the Western Ships Built List:

Correct Name – Charles Devena should be Charles Devens

Correct Name – Chicago should be to SS Chicago, originally the General C.H. Muir

Correct Name – Saint Louis should be SS Saint Louis, originally the General M.L. Hersey

Correct Name – Pittsburgh should be SS Pittsburgh, originally the General M.L. Hersey

Correct Name – President Wilson should be SS President Wilson

End Date – Independence should have an end date of 1931 as it changed to the City of Norfolk

Start and End Date – City of Norfolk (previously the Independence) should have a date range from 1931-1941 as then it changed to the Neville

Ship removed from the Western Ships Repaired List:

Point Cruz

Ship added to the Western Ships Repaired List

Chicago CG 11 – start date of 11/1/1958 to 12/31/1963 – Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The Chicago underwent a five year conversation.

Annual Report

Posted 05/01/13PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Western Asbestos Settlement Trust’s Ninth Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Roger L. Efremsky, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division, located at 1300 Clay Street, Oakland, California 94612 in Room 201.

Western Asbestos Payment Percentage Review

Posted 02/20/13Section 4.2 of the Trust Distribution Procedures requires that the Payment Percentage be reconsidered no less frequently than once every three years. The Payment Percentage was last reviewed on February 18, 2010 (see notices of all reviews and changes in Archive notices). On February 7, 2013, the Payment Percentage was again reviewed and it remains at 44%.

Modification to the Western Ship Lists

Posted 10/17/12The following is a synopsis of the modifications to the Western Asbestos Settlement Trust Built and Repair Ship Lists approved at the September 20, 2012 Trustees' meeting.

Ships removed from the Western Built List:

Monterey

Oregon Mail

Hamer

Ship removed from the Western Repaired List:

Point Defiance

Ships added to the Western Built List:

Bush – Start Date 5/10/1943

Hazelwood – Start Date 1/18/1943

Oyster Point – Start Date 7/1/1959

Point Orient – Start Date 1/1/1960

Point Bonita – Start Date 1/1/1960

Valdez – Start Date 1/1/1966

McKinley – Start Date 7/1/1964

Shasta aka Centennial Queen – Start Date 6/28/1946

Modifications to Site List

Posted 05/11/12The following modifications to the California Land Site List were approved at the April 19, 2012 Trustees' meeting:

Hawthorne Army Base – Correct State Designation to NV

Camp Parks – Correct City Designation to Dublin

Annual Report

Posted 04/27/12PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Western Asbestos Settlement Trust's Eighth Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Roger L. Efremsky, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division, located at 1300 Clay Street, Oakland, California 94612 in Room 201.

Timing of Requests for Consideration at February 2012 Trustees' Meeting

Posted 11/28/11Any requests for revisions to Trust policies or procedures, physician certification, modifications to an approved list, and/or TDP/Matrix interpretations or questions to be considered during the February 2012 Trustees' meeting must be received by the Trust on or before Friday, January 6, 2012.

Comments to the Trust

Posted 11/28/11The Trust welcomes comments from Trust claimants, beneficiaries and law firms that file claims with the Trust. The Trustees invariably will seek the advice of the Trust Advisory Committee and Futures Representative with regard to any comments seeking to modify Trust policies or set priorities on Trust agendas or finances. The Trust recommends that claimants or their attorneys make an effort to discuss those issues either with the Trust Advisory Committee or the Futures Representative, or both, as appropriate, before raising these issues with the Trustees or the Trust staff.

Modification to the Western Built Ships List

Posted 09/26/11A modification to the Western Built Ships List was approved at the September 15, 2011 Trustees’ meeting. The modification is listed below and the new list has been posted on the Trust Web site. Please review the list, which includes a modification column for reference purposes.

2010 Annual Report

Notice of Hearing

Posted 4/28/11PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing on the motion to approve Western Asbestos Settlement Trust's Seventh Annual Report and Accounting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. before United States Bankruptcy Court Judge, the Honorable Roger L. Efremsky, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division, located at 1300 Clay Street, Oakland, California 94612 in Room 201.

Declarations

Posted 4/5/11Pursuant to Section I(d) of the Matrix, the Trust may require additional information to assure that such evidence provided to the Trust is reliable. Therefore, any claim that is partially supported by a declaration to verify claimant's presence at a site, asbestos exposure, and/or dates of exposure, or any other facts relevant to the claim must meet these requirements:

The declaration must be written by a person who is competent to testify to the information stated in the declaration and the person must have direct knowledge of the factual information relevant to the claim.

The declaration must provide sufficient background information to explain how the declarant acquired the direct knowledge of factual matters relevant to this claim, to allow the Trust to determine the credibility of the declarant.

The declarant's complete home address is to be part of the declaration.

The declaration must be in the declarant's own words and not boilerplate wording.

The declaration must be accompanied by any documents (i.e. military records, social security records, etc) that the declarant relied upon in drafting his or her declaration. If no documents were relied upon in drafting the declaration, then the claimant must make a statement that he or she did not rely on any documents for the declaration. If the information was given to the person by someone other than the Injured Person, then the declaration must state who, when, and in what form the information was given.

The declaration must be specific to the claim filed.

The declaration must be signed under the penalty of perjury.

The Trust may interview anyone who signs a declaration in support of a claim submitted to the Trust pursuant to Section I(d) of the Matrix.

Approved Modifications

Posted 03/03/11Modifications to the Western Ships Built List, Western Ships Repaired List, and Minnesota On-Land list were approved at the February 17, 2011 Trustees meeting. The modifications are listed below and the new lists have been posted on the Trust Web site. Please review the lists, which include a modification column for reference purposes.

Minnesota On-Land Site List:

Removed Power Plant- Port Neal - it has been determined this is not a site in Minnesota but in Iowa.

Western Asbestos Ships Repaired List:

Removed USS Garcia DE 1040 from the repaired list. This is a built ship and is currently on the built list.

Western Asbestos Ships Built List:

Added the below ships to the built list. These ships were built at Bethlehem Steel - San Francisco

Shipyard

Start Date

End Date

Name of Ship

Contents

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

1-Dec-47

1-Dec-48

ADM D.W. TAYLOR

scrapped 1974

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

1-Apr-48

1-Apr-49

ADM F.B. UPHAM

scrapped 1984

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

1-Sep-44

1-Sep-45

ADM W.L. CAPPS

sunk 2000

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

4-Feb-43

4-Feb-44

CHICKSAW

struck 1999

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

28-Mar-43

28-Mar-44

CREE

sunk 1978

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

20-Feb-19

20-Feb-20

HAZELWOOD

scrapped 1935

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

29-Apr-43

29-Apr-44

LIPAN

sunk 1990

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

29-May43

29-May-44

MATACO

scrapped 1979

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

25-Sep-42

25-Sep-43

MENOMINEE

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

29-Sep-43

29-Sep-44

MOLALA

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

30-Oct-43

30-Oct-44

MUNSEE

struck 1969

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

17-Dec-43

17-Dec-44

PAKANA

sunk 1975

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

31-Mar-42

31-Mar-43

PAWNEE

struck 1962

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

12-Feb-44

12-Feb-45

POTOWATOMI

suck 1965

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

6-May-44

6-May-45

QUPAW

struck 1992

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

24-Jun-44

24-Jun-45

Sarsi

lost 1952

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

22-Sep-44

22-Sep-45

SERRANO

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

12-Jun-42

12-Jun-43

SIOUX

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

3-AUG-44

3-AUG-45

TAKELMA

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

15-Sep-44

15-Sep-45

TAWAKONI

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

18-Sep-44

18-Sep45

TENINO

struck 1961

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

26-Dec44

26-Dec-45

TOLOWA

struck 1970

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

13-DEC-42

13-DEC-43

UTE

sunk 1991

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

17-Feb-45

17-Feb-45

WATEREE

sunk 1945

Bethlehem Steel -- San Francisco, CA

24-Mar-45

24-Mar-46

WENATCHEE

Posted 03/03/11

RESOLVED that the Trustees, in agreement with the TAC and Futures Representative, do hereby amend the Western Asbestos Settlement Trust Case Valuation Matrix Section IV (vii) as follows:

vii. Medical Causation. The following adjustments apply to Injured Persons who have different smoking histories and/or medical findings than those described for the base Other Cancer case. In no event can any of the adjustments listed below be combined for an overall causation adjustment in excess of 3.0 OCA.

Causation Information

Data

Pathological diagnosis of asbestosis, or occupational levels of asbestos bodies or asbestos fibers in lung tissue